title: Epidermal growth factor receptor expression in skin does not predict dementia in the elderly.
abstract: We have previously reported that epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) was expressed on vascular endothelial cells from postmortem specimens of demented but not cognitively normal subjects. In the present study, we examined skin biopsies from 35 living patients who were either normal or had a clinical diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease. In this living cohort, there was no correlation between the presence of vascular EGFR expression and clinically determined cognitive status. While a variety of factors may be responsible for these findings, endothelial EGFR expression cannot be used to confirm a premortem clinical diagnosis of dementia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, PA 15261, USA.
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Styren
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Styren
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: DeKosky
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000378:metabolism; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000378:metabolism; D003704:Dementia / Q000378:metabolism*; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012867:Skin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001057:Apolipoproteins E; D066246:ErbB Receptors